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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — in sport
  4. race — a contest
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. net — after costs
  8. kick — in football
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. plane — a tool
  11. swing — to play on
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. race — the arms race
  14. lie — to recline
  15. drill — the tool
  16. swing — in golf
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. drill — a practice
  19. snap — to click
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. race — humankind
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. drill — army training
  24. swing — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com